Straw Dogs (1971)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Sam Peckinpah

Writers:

David Zelag Goodman (screenplay) and
Sam Peckinpah (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The knock at the door meant the birth of one man and the death of seven others!

Plot:

A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.

Plot Keywords:

American | Violence | Construction | Mathematician | English

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	David Sumner
Susan George	...	Amy Sumner
Peter Vaughan	...	Tom Hedden
T.P. McKenna	...	Major John Scott
Del Henney	...	Charlie Venner
Jim Norton	...	Chris Cawsey
Donald Webster	...	Riddaway
Ken Hutchison	...	Norman Scutt
Len Jones	...	Bobby Hedden
Sally Thomsett	...	Janice Hedden
Robert Keegan	...	Harry Ware
Peter Arne	...	John Niles
Cherina Schaer	...	Louise Hood
Colin Welland	...	Reverend Barney Hood
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
June Brown	...	Mrs. Hedden (scenes deleted)
Chloe Franks	...	Emma Hedden (scenes deleted)
Michael Mundell	...	Bertie Hedden (scenes deleted)

Also Known As:

Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (UK) (complete title)
Perros de paja (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Adespota skylia (Greece) [el]
Cães de Palha (Portugal) [pt]
Cane di paglia (Italy) [it]
De galna hundarna (Sweden) [sv]
Köpekler (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Køterne (Denmark) [da]
Les chiens de paille (France) [fr]
Nedzne psy (Poland) [pl]
Olkikoirat (Finland) [fi]
Psi od slame (Croatia) [hr]
Psi od slame (Serbia) [sr]
Sob o Domínio do Medo (Brazil) [pt]
Straw Dogs - det galna gänget (Sweden) [sv]
Straw dogs - De galna hundarna (Sweden) [sv]
Szalmakutyák (Hungary) [hu]
Wer Gewalt sät (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

118 min | USA:113 min (R-rated version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 (cut) (1971) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1981) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | Brazil:18 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (DVD re-rating) (2004) | Australia:R (original rating) | France:-16 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:(Banned) (video rating) (1999) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (2002) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lamorna Cove, Lamorna, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

ABC Pictures

Trivia:

Tom Hedden's family were originally given roles in the film but were either cut or never filmed. June Brown was cast as Hedden's wife, together with Chloe Franks as their daughter Emma, and a scene was scripted featuring both in their home laundry with Susan George. However although the scene was included in the shooting script it was never actually filmed. Michael Mundell was originally cast as Cawsey the rat-catcher but was later switched to the role of Bertie Hedden in a scene featuring the village children. However his entire role was never filmed because the scene was canceled due to time and budget constraints.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Amy fires the shotgun at the last attacker both the hammers are in the 'uncocked' position. She would need to pull the hammer of the relevant barrel backwards to cock the gun.

Quotes:

Riddaway: I didn't reckon on nobody getting killed, Norman.
Norman Scutt: Yeah, well, that's too bad. We're all in it now. Accessories, we are.
Charlie Venner: That's the law.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dream House (2009) (V)

One of the most realistic portrayals of emotion on film.

In the early 2000s, there was a breakout of movies labeled as "torture porn", which all had three main factors. First, they were intended to make the audience feel the same utter desperation as the tortured characters on screen. Second, they almost always had a deep social portrayal. And, third, they were always rejected by hypocritical critics who failed to see intelligence in desperation, then went off and praised hollow "fine cinema" pieces for "saying something about the human condition". These types of films have always interested me because they mix unrelenting pace with a non-genetic message about how humans tend to think. And I find it interesting that Straw Dogs (1971), while not really a "torture" film, has every single aspect I just listed. While it's gained a lot more credit today, in its time, it was just as hated by the critics as "torture porn" is now. It's funny how easily society can completely be in denial when a movie like Straw Dogs says something about the human condition no one will dare say, while society can then go and praise some completely hollow, cliché-spewing film like (excuse the modern example) No Country for Old Men. I find that hypocrisy almost comical. And I think, maybe, that was one of Straw Dog's points.

So what makes Straw Dogs so intelligent? Well, first, it is simply one of the few accurate portrayals of REAL human emotion in cinema. Realism is a word that is thrown around constantly by writers/directors, but as Hollywood gets closer to what it thinks is realism, it just takes five steps back from being truly anything like how real humans think. Very few movies have ever achieved truly expressing how people interact without turning the characters into some podium to preach some idea the writer/director has, or just turning the characters into pieces of cardboard that move the plot along. Contrary to popular belief, the greatest acting in the world can't fix unrealistic characters. That works just about as much as a pretty coat of paint fixes a house that's ready to collapse in on itself. The emotion is Straw Dog's shining point. The two main characters' emotions are portrayed differently in every situation. One scene will end with a loving moment, then the next will open with a bitter one, then the next will open with completely indifference. Things that should have an emotional impact on the characters doesn't have any whatsoever. Actions that should cause them negative emotion cause them pleasure. Just when you find a character totally likable, they'll do something to ruin that feeling—a lot like the betrayal of a friend. Put simply: I've seen countless movies in my life, but never once have I seen a movie with this much of a realistic emotional core.

Likewise, without spoiling anything, Straw Dogs goes where no movie in its time dared to go with its subject matter. While I wouldn't necessary call every idea presented here original, some of them are, and not a single one of them is a cliché. It's very relatable to A Clockwork Orange—which came out the same year—in that way. I find it sad, however, that A Clockwork Orange is now considered some sort of classic, while Straw Dogs is still lesser known to the general public than a lot of foreign indie films. Straw Dogs nearly singlehandedly formed the groundwork for the thriller genre, and its influence can be seen in everything from other 70s movies to whatever cliché thriller is playing at the local theater as I type this. The ending is pure intensity, and very few movies can pull that off. The kills in the end of the film are a lot more graphic than anything I expected from a 70s film, and some are just brutal. Straw Dogs deserves more recognition.

So, if my review is entirely positive, why do I not give this a higher score? As much as I can relate to this movie, and as much as I appreciate it, I think giving this a perfect score is an insult to what the director was going for. Sam Peckinpah didn't want this film to be entertaining; he wanted it to truly disturb the viewer. Though that may be a little hard to do now in 2009, due to the countless rip-offs and rehashes of the subject matter, this is nowhere near easy viewing. Perfection is an extension of contentment, and I personally was not content with this movie. I wasn't supposed to be. It's a point-blank contradiction to the Hollywood formula that states you have to make the viewer go in their pants out of awe/contentment or you haven't done your job. That's why I can't give Straw Dogs a perfect score, but it didn't want one. It's too honest for that. It's too intelligent for that.

7/10